Rondo rolled his ankle in the third quarter of the Celtics win Wednesday night over Utah. He was driving to the rim, it was an innocent play. But in the first weeks of the season there is no reason for Boston to take a chance here.

Rondo made a leap forward in hi leadership role on the team his having his best season as a pro — 14.3 points per game on 51 percent shooting with 12.5 assists per game. All of those are career highs. That’s not easy to replace.